Grocery prices - sigh

justforfun87

Thu, May 18 2023, 10:13 am

amother Green wrote:

I'm also in Baltimore. Grocery delivery ends up saving you in the long run (even if you do it from the Kosher stores) because you get nothing extra in the store. It might be worth looking into Instacart or Walmart +. Walmart can be hit or miss but they've been pretty ok recently (it's about $10 a month and they deliver fresh produce, milk (not cy though) eggs etc.).
I buy big bags of snacks like pretzels etc. and we divide them up into small baggies (my 3 are still young enough not to care I guess!).
Totally relate to shlepping to 5 stores, so I shlep to one and order online from another. Costco is every 6+ weeks and its a large bill but worth it for savings on certain (only certain!) items.
When I stick to a menu plan we end up saving a ton this way.
That said $450 sounds very typical these days:(

Correct me if I am wrong but for instacart with the fees and tips don't you end up spending the same amount you would somewhere else? For instance on a $100 dollar order tipping 10- 15 dollars is probably cancelling out the savings. I actually just about exclusively shop on the stores app but still :/

amother

Green

Thu, May 18 2023, 10:23 am

justforfun87 wrote:

Yes because I'm bad with impulse buys in store:)
That said, walmart (the app-walmart plus) per item is the same price as in store (unlike instacart). So you have the monthly fee and I tip as well. So per month you're dealing with an extra maybe $50 total (which is way way less than what it would cost me if I got cereal, flour, beans etc. at 7mile or market maven).

Amarante

Thu, May 18 2023, 10:26 am

justforfun87 wrote:

I use Instacart but it is a luxury as you pay a lot for the service.

You pay for delivery unless you have their annual membership which is $99

Even with annual membership, you pay a service fee which is a percentage of your order

Each store marks up items by quite a lot. The difference can be as high as $1.00 or more on each item so the cost for the groceries is significantly higher than in store prices.

You also need to tip between 15% to 20% because you are using these people to shop and deliver your items and essentially their income relies in tips. If you tip a waiter this much to bring food from the kitchen, there is no justification for not tipping someone the same percentage when they do much more

amother

Maroon

Sat, May 20 2023, 11:45 pm

justforfun87 wrote:

Every week I promise myself I will do better. I visualize and double check my cart every time. I really try to get the staples at Target/Costco but week after week my bill is so embarrassingly high. I am clearly not cutting enough. Then I sometimes have food waste or the produce wasn't good (sour mandarines) and that compounds the guilt. It seems on average I am spending 450/week on food since Pesach. This is for 5 eaters and some stuff I pick up for a parent as well. Inflation can only be blamed so much. I need more concrete ideas to cut costs. This is Baltimore for reference.

I'm in Baltimore too, and unfortunately my bill is pretty close to yours on average. I have 4 kids under age 14. I try to go to Aldi's every other week and then either 7mile or Market Maven every week for dairy, meat, etc. Take advantage of Market Maven's meat/chicken sales and stock up a ton. Unfortunately as my kids get older, they need/want more junky snacks and I usually get those through Walmart or Amazon subscribe and save. Also, some not in Baltimore may not realize we pay (and pack) for all our children's lunches here in Baltimore.
Hatzlacha, it's really tough. My bill has literally gone up about 35% percent since two years ago. Of course, my income has not...

amother

Bottlebrush

Sun, May 21 2023, 1:14 am

amother Dodgerblue wrote:

Make meal plans based on sale items. Many stores have good return/exchange policies on produce that is not good. Why do people's kids eat so many snacks a day? Probably because they are processed/carby and therefore addictive. A fruit and vegetable should be enough per snack (2x daily, once in school and once when they get home) and you can add a healthy unprocessed fat/protein like egg, nuts etc. or chumus/techina/guacamole to go with the vegetable and you may find they have a better appetite for meals too.

Your kids are starving in school if that’s all you send. You should send 3-4 snacks and not just fruits and vegetables as those aren’t filling. Please don’t be cheap on kids snacks. I’m a teacher for reference.